The Hunted
by Airan11
Summary: Ravenous and bloodthirsty with rage, a pack of infected brethren threaten to take down the entire city of struggling survivors. After his transformation, will he succumb to the beast inside of him? Or will a survivor garner every ounce of his attention? Image: AstroZerk - Hunter of the Bayou/Deviant Art
1. Transform

_Hungry, self__ish and bloodthirsty with rage, with a pack of brethren and a long-lost friend, they threaten to take down the entire city of struggling survivors. But he finds himself drawn to one particular survivor – for reasons unknown. He's addicted and madly overprotective. In the end, will he gain his human emotions back? Or succumb to the beast inside of him?_

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><p>He swiped at me the fourth time that night. His sharp fingernail slashed across my grey skin as blood flowed from the wound. I'd had enough of this pathetic fiend and I swiped him back across his face, breaking his nose as I heard a distinctive <em>crack<em>.

He snarled, backing up into another man that had been aimlessly wandering the dilapidated streets. The man appeared startled as he pushed the same infected into the wall and slashed at his neck until there was no more blood to draw. He then turned to glare at me, but I simply wandered on, waiting for another round of humans to approach the street.

We'd all just finished off a group of survivors trying to escape the confines of the city as they attempted to make their way to salvation. But we weren't going to let that happen. Not until every single remaining human in the world had been fed on. Hell, I was starving… and those humans taste so _good_…

I swear I could taste their blood, the hot trickle of it sliding down my throat, replenishing the beast inside of me. I yearned to see their expressions shift from surprise to fear, as they stared at us sprinting for them, realising their deaths were rapidly approaching. Their fear only aroused the sweat emanating from their bodies, which only made us hunger for more. Their screams added to the delight of our feeding.

Smirking, I continued down the path I'd taken, unaware of where I was going until I heard another crack as I stepped on a tender bone. I bent down to examine it closely; I had only crushed his spine by a considerable amount. I shrugged, moving along to rest against a brick wall. The sun had been doing my head in; the rays of light blinding my vision if I looked up for too long. I took comfort in the darkness as I cast my right arm over my eyesight and waited for the sun to set.

A sickening gurgle came from next to me as I glanced over at the bloodied woman. She had short cropped hair to her neck as she wore her usual business attire, now tearing at the seams and tarnished with blood. I watched, curiously, as she bent down and relieved a stream of puke that splat onto the pavement from her mouth. The bile bubbled before coating the pavement with a dark green stain.

I doubled back as she passed me, knocking into my shoulder as she staggered further down the street. I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding and followed her. She was a quick stumbler, but I managed to catch up nonetheless as she collapsed onto the floor and fell silent. Several others along the street turned to glance at us, before they returned to their idle stances.

A deep rumbling vibration sounded from my abdomen as I realised I still hadn't eaten. As if on cue, thunderous gunshots exploded from down the street, alarming all of us within the area.

A wicked smile spread across my face as dinner was finally served.

We howled fiercely into the early dusk as my brethren and I sprinted down the street, searching and hunting for our food. Approximately thirty of us rounded a corner and spotted two survivors near the middle of the street. Our pace fastened as we smelt the sweat pour from their skin, their fear imprinted onto their facial features as they gathered their weapons and fired at our horde.

The few that were infected were flicked off our sprint as the front line had been shed for sacrifice. The closer we neared, the less capable they seemed to use their weapons. The second line reached the survivors and tore at their clothing, eager for the succulent taste of human flesh. The third line beat and kicked their way through, fighting for the feed, all selfish to have the last bite.

I was in the fourth line, and after most had been eradicated, it was an easy task to tear down the survivors as their morale and energy had slowly been seeped away. With pure rage surging through my body, I punched and swiped at one of the males' arms. His weapon dropped, and he fell along with it, screaming an ear-splitting cry as he knew his time was coming to an end. I used this to my advantage and leant down next to him, tearing the remains of his clothing away to bite into this flesh.

His scream pierced through my ears as I dug my yellowed teeth into his skin and ripped a chunk of warm, untainted flesh that filled my mouth and replenished my rumbling stomach. I swallowed the remains of his skin and allowed the taste of his hot blood to coat my throat before I took another bite from him. He erupted with more screams before he was as silent as his teammate on the floor.

There wasn't much time left now, because once they're dead, the body freezes over and the blood dries. I took the advantage of feeding off him as much as I could. At one point, I was shoved aside as others tried to compete with my strength to move me off the human; after all, I wasn't the only hungry one around here.

But I fought back, swiping at their faces and snarling with rage as blood splattered from my own mouth onto another infected woman's face. She snarled back and grabbed me by my navy hoodie and flung me out of the way as I rolled onto the road, further away from the scene. The anger that boiled up inside me unleashed as I leapt from the ground and shoved man after woman aside to take back my feed. I slashed, shoved and pulverised my way through, eager to slice his skin open with my teeth.

The others must have noticed my rapid change of mood as they stalked off, already satisfied with their feed. I scowled at them to leave me alone with my meal. I was nowhere near satisfied.

I finished feeding off the dead human as I swallowed the lasting remains of his blood, the strength returning to my bones as I stalked off, ready to find another human to replenish my hunger.

I didn't think feeding was a big deal, as I thought it was normal, and just what every other brother of mine experienced. But it was then that I noticed the difference between myself and my brethren.

They rarely fed, perhaps three or four times per day. As for me, I fed constantly. It was the one desire nagging my thoughts, like a drill pounding into my brain; it was only ever silent whilst I was feeding.

I wasn't going to let it consume me. Perhaps feeding more only made you more powerful. In that case, I was already superior to the other pitiful dogs.

The drilling was increasing tumultuously in my head, and I snarled, clamping my hands on the sides of my head, digging my fingernails into the skin, drawing out blood that trickled down my cheeks. If this wasn't normal, then what was? Why was I the only one going through this pain?

I could hear the drilling increase as it spread through my veins. My head was throbbing from the pain as I felt the blood vessels in my head convulsing. I was unaware of the sounds of my screaming as I realised the entire street had been cleared of any infected. I took slight comfort in being alone during the torture and I dropped to my knees, still clutching onto the hairs of my head, screeching into the night for the pain in my head to stop.

But it only spread – and it spread _fast_.

There was a sudden sensation in my eyes, but it was so minute that I didn't know if it was pain or not. The waves of pain travelled through the veins of my arms, all the way to my fingertips. A burning sensation followed the veins along my arms, and I felt my muscles tense unwillingly. They pounded underneath my skin and I turned to watch as my arm muscles jerked every few seconds, each time the muscle increased in size as I watched, dumbfounded.

What the fuck was happening to my body?

I backed up into a brick wall, not realising that I had moved my feet. Every muscle tore with an ache so powerful that I was actually concerned for my safety. I looked back at my muscles, now doubled in size. If this was the feeding that was making me so potent, then I wasn't going to stop. As long as it was going to replenish the pain and my hunger, I'd continue feeding to be the most powerful man left on the planet.

I thought the pain had finally stopped, and that this bizarre transformation was complete, but as I heard the sound of cracking nails, I realised, maybe this was just the beginning.

Unwillingly, I looked at my fingernails and witnessed the nail plates snap and tear into pieces before falling off onto the pavement below. My heart pounded a million beats per minute as I stared at my bare fingers.

The pain returned, only worse this time. I felt my skin tearing in my cuticles and watched as ten razor-sharp black claws slithered out of the cuticles and grew at an alarming rate. It felt as if knives had been stabbed into my cuticles, and then slowly drawn back out. I closed my eyes and let out a piercing shriek, waiting for the pain to subside. The next time I opened my eyes, I was on the floor, staring at the sky as black as midnight.

The pain hadn't stopped, but it wasn't as gruesome as before. I examined the claws that had just grown and gasped. They were long, thick and could claw through skin like a diamond through glass. I raised my index finger and glided the claw through the skin of my wrist, immediately drawing blood; I yelped and tightened the navy sleeve of my hoodie to stop the flow.

I calmed myself down, only enough to realise that the burning sensation had finally returned back to my eyes. I closed them tightly, which only seemed to strengthen the ache. I felt the vessels in my eyes pop as blood oozed down my cheeks. The blood was running faster now, and I cried into the night, begging the pain to disappear. There was no way to tell how long this was going to go on for, but I couldn't take it any longer. The stinging of my eyes increased rapidly, and there was only one idea I considered that would end the torture.

I raised my newly shed claws to my eyes and pierced the claws into the groove of my eyelids. I screamed in complete agony as I began to seize my eyes and rip them from their sockets. The blood flowed like a stream down my face, and I didn't stop until the sockets of my eyes were empty. The process felt like it lasted over ten lifetimes and the screeches I caused had probably wiped the entire city free of any infected.

I knew no pain worse than this.

I breathed heavily in slowed gasps as I tried to calm the tornado of angst inside of me.

I could no longer see. I would never see the sky as a black, velvet abyss; I would never see daylight as bright and warm as the sun; and I would never see the face of a beautiful woman again. My sense of sight disappeared.

But every other sense was as powerful as I was gradually becoming. I could taste the remains of the infected man I ate an hour ago, his sweet blood lingered in the taste buds of my tongue. I could touch every precipice and know what it was; I could scale every building and know that I was safe above it. I could smell thousands of different scents within the city, and I knew where the delicious humans were hiding. Their scents proved a great disadvantage to them… their sweat… and their blood.

And lastly, I could hear. I heard the tipper-tapper of rats' feet as their teeth bit into flesh of an infected. I heard voices miles away, to which I would visit soon enough. I heard growls three blocks away from my spot, to which I was going to investigate.

I began to make my way to the sounds of growls, until I felt the familiar burning sensation spread down my legs. My heartbeat skipped, realising this wasn't over. As I walked, my leg muscles began to crack and buckle under the pressure. The muscles were throbbing and jerking by the similar fashion my arms had. Without intuition, a muscle tore and split into a foreign manner, as did the other leg. I yelled into the night and fell to the floor, my knees connected to the ground as I held myself up by my claws. I stayed crouched, waiting for the buckling of my muscles to stop.

But it continued to progress as further snaps caused my muscles to shift into different positions, before they hardened into stone. The pain caused me to shriek out loud, before I stopped suddenly.

The sensation triggered a muscle in my throat and I felt it enlarge, tightening my airways. I felt as if my throat was constricting, and my screams were reduced to animalistic growls and snarls. I no longer had a voice as familiar growls tore from my throat, the same growls that I heard from three blocks away.

I howled in anger and swiped at the wall beside me, slashing into the brick. Every muscle throbbed with pain, and by now, I was begging the pain to be over with. This was too much to handle for one night.

The pain spread from my throat to my mouth, as I felt my teeth throb and shatter into pieces. I howled again, sending shards of teeth flying as each hole pounded with more intensity. My gums bled as twenty-eight sharp needles penetrated my gums, before slicing out with razor-sharp points. I glided my tongue along the points, realising my teeth had been replaced with fangs as sharp as knives.

The burning of my veins was replaced with fury as I sprinted down the street. I smelt a torrent of smoke drift from an abandoned car and I attempted to jump over the bonnet.

Instead, I flew.

I sank onto my haunches in one second, leapt from the ground in another, and I was flying through the air, metres over the car as a howl escaped my lips and landed silently on the ground, the car behind me.

Feelings that I thought were lost replaced the angst inside of me, as anticipation and excitement blazed through my veins and I continued to leap high into the air, bounding from wall to wall, my landings masked by my careful grace. I wanted to move faster, so blindingly rapid that I was almost unseen. I realised the clothes I was wearing didn't allow for swift movements. I would have to find a solution for that issue.

All of the pain and torture I endured had been worth it, because as of now, I was one of the most powerful men left in the world, which made me lethal to my prey.

I howled into the night and leapt my way over to the sounds of growls and gunshots, avoiding all contact by disguising my silhouette into the shadows.

Once arriving onto the scene, I sensed three survivors were fighting their way through an oncoming horde, and as I was about to leap for my feed, a yelping growl came from below me. It must have been another infected, but I knew this one was different – just like me. He appeared hurt and bleeding as he was left on the floor. I leapt down below, avoiding to be seen by the survivors and grabbed a hold of the man and led him to safety among the rooftops.

I could smell the scent of his blood, but it was nothing like those that were human. I set him down, and removed his grip from my neck as my claws came into contact with his. I flinched back, realising his claws were just like mine. He had the same claws, the same growl and our angered levels of stress appeared distinctly alike.

His yelp distracted me from my thoughts as I ripped a piece of his sweatshirt and secured it over his wound, tightening it so that the blood flow would stop. He growled in appreciation before passing out underneath me.

I realised then that I was going to do everything within my power to help him, because ultimately, I was going to need his help.

After all, I couldn't take down an entire city all by myself, could I?

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><p><strong>AN: I've had this written up for a long while, and decided to publish it tonight.**

**This may just be a one-shot, but if many of my readers do enjoy the outlook of the story, I may end up producing it into a full piece. **

**Hope you guys enjoyed it! Let me know what you think of it. :)**


	2. Hunt

It was almost 5am, and she was still crying.

Her sobbing moans hadn't softened in over six hours, and it was startlingly fascinating to hear the young woman's trembling body shift from one stance to another, the grass crippling lightly under the gentle pressure of her weight. She was obviously psychotic, her challenging mental abilities were impressive though, I must admit.

Her desperate pleas had attracted survivor upon survivor toward her, yet each of them had been left in a pile of flesh and blood along the street. She begged for attention, but once given to her, she eradicated those that initiated such attention in the first place. She was quite the enigma. Her blood red eyes glowed with an evil I couldn't even surmount to, and her nails – which I had witnessed earlier – sliced out from her cuticles over six hours ago. They were serrated knives as sharp and deadly as loose icicles hung from a cave. Their metallic colour was coated with a thick, red substance. Ever since their emergence, she hadn't stopped crying.

If I hadn't heard her animalistic screaming from her earlier transformation, I may have also mistaken her for a delicious sweet left abandoned on the street. But then again, I was smart enough to judge from a distance, rather than to throw myself into hazardous situations.

Since my arrival onto this rooftop, most of my time had been occupied in ensuring my fellow comrade was recovering from his fatal incident with the survivors. After carefully wrapping his injuries with his thick sweatshirt, I was able to stop the blood flow to ensure a speedy recovery.

As of now, I was still awaiting his successful awakening.

Though I was taking my time to heal my injured friend, I also had to use this precious time in searching for someone to eat. I hadn't eaten in those six hours, and my thundering stomach was distracting me from my steady course of action: to kill all survivors.

It would have to be now, as now was a good a time as any. I leapt to my feet and stalked my way to the edge of the rooftop, and climbed upon the ledge that separated my body from the downfall to the street below. Without my sight, I relished in my powerful senses that were able to lead me to any desired destination.

The air was thick and hazy with the scent of blood and guts. Although it smelled fantastic, it would taste nothing like the fresh coat of a human's blood direct from the source of their wound. My body tingled involuntarily as a smile spread across my tainted lips. I allowed myself to hear the sounds of the suburb, avoiding the noisy group of humans a kilometre away. I had to focus on finding one who was alone, one who was drawn to certain dangers.

And there it was: the screech of a car alarm. I hissed fanatically into the air as I dropped to my feet, feeling the heat spread over my muscles and stretched my legs, leaping to the opposite rooftop metres away from my previous post.

My hunger reached its limits as I bounded again, diagonally, and reached the top of a building, my tongue lapping excitedly to the side of my lips. Oh, how my stomach rumbled from the absence of untainted food. Such hunger I never thought I would experience pounded my insides and tightened my organs. Never before had hunger been so painful.

My haphazard emotions were able to control the pain I felt, so I allowed myself to feel only a degree of it. This would keep me going, allowing me to hunt until I was satisfied, and motivating me to dominate over my prey, because they will not win.

Leaping to an abandoned rooftop, I could smell the street littering with the infected, all hungry and fighting for the ounce of food they could receive. But I would not let them eat. Not until I was fed.

Underneath the dank smell of infected blood, I could detect minor hints of the human scent, and immediately, my mouth filled with saliva. It was time I enjoyed my delivered delicacy. Searching amongst the crowd, I could pinpoint the locations of two humans; their sweat-coated bodies were distinctly arousing to all infected senses. That was their major disadvantage.

One of them, obviously noticing their abrupt loss, fled the scene and deserted their partner who was mindlessly pointing the barrel of his empty shotgun at the corrupt faces of his enemies. The suicidal partner, through all his panicky antics, attracted the majority of the horde that began sprinting after him, leaving his partner in the freezing hands of death.

I salvaged in this advantageous opportunity and leapt from my vantage point, my arms stretching out in front of me, eagerly desiring the unblemished taste of his skin and the splattering of his blood all over my face.

I landed harshly and emitted a growl of annoyance as my knees connected to the concrete. The road cracked under the impact of my pounce. The human lay dead underneath me, his skull had been smashed against the concrete, shattering his skull and sending blood puddling along the street due to my immense strength.

My legs were efficient in locking the human in place which ensured no means of escape. Although this position was foreign to me, it allowed me direct access to my prey's vital organs. I shredded through his clothing in a number of seconds, my claws were twitching to be used. Upon reaching his cream-coloured skin, my claws were excitedly invited to devour line upon line of tender skin, tearing open several wounds at once and drawing blood that tempted several of the commons closer.

I growled at them menacingly, baring my jagged teeth in a war that would only end in my success. If one were to disrupt me, one would have to pay the consequences. My mouth watered at the thought of murderously killing them off, one by one…

I slashed at the human again, my thoughts carelessly distracting me from the pounding of my stomach. I was in desperate need of a fix. My claws tore through his skin like melted butter, and I relished in the pure taste of his blood, allowing some of his flesh to mingle in to create a juicy, bloody concoction of human meat. I allowed the remains of his flesh to melt in my mouth, savouring the taste as I leapt up, already finished with my meal and sprinted in the direction of the second survivor.

The juicy taste pushed me harder, faster, almost tempting me and testing my hunting abilities in order to catch my prey.

I caught up to the commons easily enough as I pounced from building to rooftop, landing and leaping, dodging metal and brick alike, as my momentum fastened my efficient pace.

No one could escape me.

As I neared the horde, I used several of their bodies to launch me farther, gaining speed and covering ground as the distance between the human and I closed up in seconds. I heard the human's footsteps halt for one second as he unlocked a door. His immense fright prevented any grace as a metal bolt clanged noisily to the floor, causing an explosion of sound to erupt in my ear drums.

Ignoring such distractions, I took my final leap, charging my body with power as I crashed through the closing steel door. I landed sloppily on the floor, my body rolling uncontrollably as I let out surprised whines. My body rolled until I was stopped by the collision of the solid wall against my side.

I felt the rush of wind as the steel door swung in my direction. With reflexes as rapid as my own, I dodged the incoming blow and heard as the door rebounded off the wall and slammed back into place. It self-locked and kept the commons on the opposite side of our enclosed space, prohibiting them entrance or any chance of stealing my kill.

The human noticed my presence as his sweat filled the room, the intoxicating scent of it taunting me to crunch him to pieces. His breathing was unstable and irregular. He let out a squeal and flicked the switch of an object he appeared to be holding. I froze for a moment, realising he was using his weapon. The blood in my body clenched to my veins like ice. I couldn't move.

He continuously clicked the trigger of his weapon, but all bullets failed to successfully hit me. His abrupt scream made me realise that his weapon was empty. Gloatingly, a wicked smile spread across my face, highlighting my serrated, yellowed incisors that would slice his skin apart and suck on the tender bones, replenishing my hunger and strengthening my muscles.

He gasped involuntarily, screaming and scrambling as far away from me as the room allowed. He knew his death was approaching. This would be no meal. I would rip him apart, flesh, by muscle, by bone, until I was satisfied.

I grinned wider, exposing my larger, more vicious fangs and realised I was giving my unwelcome guests an entertaining show to watch and to be tempted by, rather than to participate in.

With the infected cries of rage, hunger and jealousy at my ear, I stalked closer, letting my claws dangle ferociously by my side as I closed the distance between us.

His piercing scream was the last sound I heard as I lunged for his neck.

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><p>AN: I've decided to continue with this story as I have big ideas coming up!

So stay tuned, hope you enjoyed it.


	3. Seize

Too exhausted to give a fuck about staying until the end of my shift, I collected the exercise apparatus and secured the equipment to their appropriate destination. With a swift clean up of the administration desk, I was barely able to perceive the message my boss had left me.

_Your shift starts at 8am. I apologise for the inconvenience, but you're the only one who can make it in._

Slamming the front door harshly against its hinges, I struck the lock with the key, my wrist twitching frantically as I locked the door in a haphazard manner. My frustrated emotions prevented any grace as I thudded down the puddly pavement, my frozen hands gripping the inside pockets of my hoodie as a chill picked up.

Swearing silently to myself, I rushed across the road, avoiding a speeding car and ignoring the beep of the car horn and the bellowing of an old man's voice. I wasn't in any mood to care. No one was out. The street was eerily quiet and surprisingly empty. People rushed by carelessly, speed-walking to their intended destination to avoid the chilly temperature and the haze that had left our city in a state of sickly silence.

It was always cold, the freezing wind gnawing my bones to frigidity. This entire urban sickness had been active for a week now and many of Fairfield's doctors had taken an unfortunate detriment to the constant wheezes and runny noses of their incessant patients. The news reports had indicated that this so-called Green Flu was just the beginning of a pandemic.

With citizens passing germs to one another, it was impossible to prevent obtaining any ounce of the flu. I was lucky to have caught a mild case, unlike my roommate who had woken me up the third time this week with groans of relieving himself early in the morning.

I couldn't blame him, but alike my workmates who had all taken sick days, I was the only one working full days every day of the week. There was no other means to express how exhausted I truly was. Mingle this with constant frustration, and I was not someone you wanted to cross paths with. I relieved such emotions by accessing the gym I worked at, and I worked myself until I was fatigued. It was the only way I truly felt at peace.

Arriving to my apartment complex, I collected our week's worth of mail and activated the lift to level seven. After stepping inside, the initial shift vertically created a sudden nauseousness from the turbulence of the lift. Holding one arm out to steady my incoherency and the other to my upset stomach, I tried to regain as much control as possible. I was not going to puke here.

Ding. Hallway. Doors. Lock. Key. It all rushed by rapidly. My whereabouts stabilised once I stepped inside the warm apartment and began my search for medicinal tablets.

"Hey man." I heard my roommate's raspy voice drift from the living room. I could hear his weak voice over the volume of his plasma.

Ignoring his shout-out, I continued my search, desperate to replenish my strengthening headache. "Where are the tablets?" My hands flew across the kitchen benches, knocking items to the floor in the mess of my hasty movements. These tablets had to be here somewhere.

He grunted, bringing himself to his feet as I heard the leather couch moan after the release of his pressure. "No, we're all out. I finished the last two a few hours ago." His steps eventually reached me, and upon sight, I immediately shrank back from his appearance. His chalky pallor stood out immensely from his purple and hollowed facial contours, the dark circles underneath his eyes were prominent and proved his lack of sleep. "Why, you need some?"

The stench of puke drifted from his breath toward me, and I fought even harder to gag. My instincts kicked in as I stepped forward and shoved him back roughly. He smashed against the apartment wall, creating a rip in the bland wallpaper. Realising what I had just done, I held my hands up in front of me, trying to signal a peaceful approach.

"What the fuck was that for?" He thudded his way towards me, a mixture of surprise and anger eminent in his posture.

I held him at bay, attempting to create a calming atmosphere. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that." I took a few sudden breaths, trying so hard to keep myself upright.

He interrupted me before I could get anything else out. "You look…weird." He commented. His eyes crawled along every inch of my exposed, pale skin. Feeling self conscious from his unfaltering gaze, I turned around, wiping sweat that had trickled down my cheek. I hadn't even realised I was sweating.

Evading an awkward scene due to his comment, I forced a laugh, trying to highlight a nonchalant response to what he'd just said. It sounded like I was choking on my own guffaw. "I need a drink." I breathed out. Avoiding his sight I stomped my way towards the couch. "Get me a drink." I called back toward him.

He laughed brightly, the scene seemed long-forgotten, and for once he had no hint of phlegm. "Amen."

Steering clear of all news channels and broadcast reports, I flicked the button of the remote until I found Baywatch, and with my newly-handed beer, I allowed myself to relax in the quietness of the room, forgetting about my sick workmates and the churning of my stomach.

"You look like shit." He commented, taking a swig of his alcohol. He reached inside the pocket of his jacket and produced a packet of cigarettes. Normally, I wouldn't allow him to smoke in the apartment, but I couldn't care less right now. The smell of smoke drifted down my throat and into my lungs. It was as satisfying for me as it was for him, and I wasn't even a smoker.

"I feel like shit. But I feel better knowing I don't look as terrible as you."

"We all know it's going 'round, asshole. I'm not the only one who looks like a pile of shit." He guffawed, laughing so hard that he choked on the phlegm in his throat, and ended up on the floor, trying to stabilise his breathing. His coughs were raspy and deep. They sounded so painful that I began to feel shivers along the length of my arms.

"Are you okay?" I asked worriedly. He didn't respond, but instead left the room. I knew then that he was headed for the bathroom, and in a minute or so I would hear his voice forcing the sickness out of him.

Returning a few minutes later looking paler than before, he plunged himself onto the couch and lit another cigarette. He realised I had been staring at him, but kept his direct vision with the television as half a smile lit up his face. "I'm fine, dude."

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><p>Brief snaps of inactivity caused such images and thoughts to collide into non-descript and unrecognisable memories. Such unknown recollections tormented the sane part of me, pleading and demanding to know the events that had taken place. But the inhumane and ravenous person I had become only wanted to ignore such feelings. They were a reckless distraction.<p>

My animalistic hunger took charge as my jagged teeth slashed into his torn arm, the same arm I ripped apart from his body moments ago. The blood rushed into my mouth, sliding deliciously down my throat, the tangy taste sending shivers down my hunched spine. I let out a menacing growl of excitement and sliced further into his skin, nibbling on the tender bone and smiling haughtily as the crowd behind me screeched wildly in jealousy and rage.

With my victim in tattered remains and a stomach swirling full of blood, I knew I was presently satisfied and would need to return to my fellow hunter. Lunging off the floor, I realised my entry into this bizarre room was currently occupied by the ravenous horde of infected. Without my sight, my two options would be to feel my surroundings for another possible exit or to wait for a feeble distraction to alert the commons away from my hideout.

Search the surroundings it was!

I flung myself to the wall opposite the screeching infected and began to pound my fists against the harsh brick, attempting to feel something of use to escape from. My body was halted by a table, and as my claws searched amongst it, I could feel the cold steel of their weapons and their small boxes of cartridges. Growling fiercely as rage burned my veins, in one rapid movement I swiped the items off their post as I heard them scatter noisily along the linoleum. My hatred for the humans gnawed my insides like acid, but within this brief distraction, I had momentarily forgotten about the infected who were drawn to such rackets.

Several louder screeches were heard beyond the steel bars of this door as I heard the thundering footsteps of alerted infected draw near, their heightened senses piquing due to noisy apparatus I had carelessly dropped. With a growing crowd of raging infected wishing for my death, I knew I would have to escape the way I entered. It would be an easy task to escape from them… but to physically exit… that was my only problem.

But wait! An unfamiliar piercing tickled my hearing as I realised more company was gradually approaching. There were voices. Human voices. Not the pointless moans of the pitiful dogs I was accustomed to, but actual voices. Their sudden appearance left my mouth salivating for more, but I was yet to escape their foundation of safety, and to accomplish that, I had to escape them.

And then, beeps! Their lucid brainpower was good for one thing, and that was the unfaltering distraction they created for the commons. Those mindless pigs followed anything that beeped. The beeping from such a mysterious object heightened in pitch, sending the commons away from my exit, creating a clear path – but yet, an inescapable door that I could not yet pass.

The beep suddenly exploded. I was sent spiralling to the floor, the final beat screeching through my eardrums and sending electromagnetic shocks to my brain. It lasted only a moment, but it was still painful nonetheless. My vision returned normally after a few seconds, only to hear their scampering footsteps approach my hideout. I silently dived behind the door, knocking my head carelessly against the brick.

One of them released the metal bolt and let himself in. I used this chance to crawl out from my post toward the unsuspecting survivor. Raising a claw, I slashed against his calf in a swift motion, pieces of his skin hanging from my razored nails as I grinned maliciously at his amusing fall to the ground. His scream alerted his partner, and without a moment of hesitance, I pounced for the available exit as a fog of smoke puffed into my nostrils. The familiar smell of the smoke brought back painful memories, of which I easily ignored. Dwelling on such memories would lead to my death.

"God damn it!" the partner barked. I let out a squeal of victory as I delved in the murky atmosphere tainted with blood and sprinted toward the opposite building. "Son of a bitch!"

Climbing the wall with ease, my jagged nails gripped into the cement as I reached the rooftop and began my journey back to my faithful brother… only to find an empty rooftop with no signs of his body. Growling with unease, I scavenged the area carefully, fighting my inhumane emotions as I passed by several survivors, none of which I could attack until I found him.

He was reckless. Upon first sight, I considered him to be a pawn in my escapade, merely something that would help me locate our meals so we could replenish our dire hunger. For something as simple as that, he was useless. He only cared for himself. I took time nursing him back to health, sealing his wounds until he became strong and stealthy. But for once, I was wrong.

There was always that unsuspecting chance that I did not need him, nor did I need his help. He was of no use to my plan, and he was of no further use to me. He would need to be dealt with for wasting my precious time. Perhaps… eaten? I'm sure there wouldn't be such difference. Maybe he would taste greater than the commons.

Either way, there was one thing I was definite of. He would not survive.

I knew his scent, and upon any instinctual smell that I stumble across that lingered with his tainted odour, I knew I would visit. He was not going to escape me.

Leaping my way around town was no difficult task, the farther I leapt the faster I wanted to progress, but I knew I had to stick to my mission of following his scent. The scrambling survivors made this much more difficult, their lonesomeness would have created the perfect opportunity for ambush.

His strong scent hit me. I leapt at a 60° angle in the last minute and clasped my claws onto an abandoned rooftop. Sprinting along its perimeter, I screeched a cry as I sank onto my haunches and dove into the shadows of a dimly lit alleyway. His scent was stronger here, masked by the sweat-coated bodies of the survivors, but I could still detect it.

His shadow was fixed on a particular human, one I need not to care about at this moment. I heard his familiar shriek, and as one of the human partner's was taking the throttle of the horde, I used this opportunity to leap out of the shadows as I launched the impact of my body into my brother. His claws snapped away from his prey, who screamed from my sudden appearance, her cry jingled like music to my ears. The beauty of her scent was masked by my hatred for this particular hunter. He will be dealt with first.

I collected my grip along the cement and jumped to my feet. My prey continued to roll metres away, shaken by his sudden relapse and failure to control his movements. As his claws slashed against the pavement, his head snapped up and finally noticed my presence. He let out a low growl of menace, slick saliva coating his lips and drooling down his shirt, the smell of it was tangy with his prey's blood.

He leapt to his feet, ignoring his prey and sauntered closer to me, his footsteps thundering louder with every step. The distance between us was miniscule, as I could smell his powerful odour a few paces in front of me. Without hesitation he bounded before me, striking me with his claw, but I was able to perceive his movement and halted his attack by blocking his hand. With rapid speed, I grabbed his wrist, preventing any further movement and wrapped my leg around his ankle. Tipping my foot forward, he tripped. I pushed him down, assisting the inertia and fell down on top of him, straddling him like any other prey.

"Look at 'em fight!" I heard a human voice, but I was so close to sealing his death that I paid them no attention. They come afterwards. My brother, shrieking at me with all his might, attempted to launch me off and roll me over. But I would not allow that. With rage piercing my sanity, I slashed at his shoulder, drawing blood that pooled the cement and filled my nostrils with the tainted scent of his betrayal.

He whined, trying to kick me off, but at the same time, he reached for his torn shoulder, turning his head to the right – leaving his throat momentarily exposed. With agility born only to me, I clasped my palm onto his head, and pounded it into the cement, startling his body and breaking his alertness. With his exposed throat only inches away, my teeth locked around the tender bone of his jugular and tore deep into the folds of his skin, blood lashing around my teeth and choking my airways.

I refused to swallow any ounce of his blood, so as I returned to my stature I spat out the remains. And then… I heard a click.

I turned around swiftly, noticing several things at once. The infected were no longer surrounding either of the humans, but instead, lay in a bloody mess along the road. The woman was hurt, a wound was bleeding severely, and I realised it must have been my brother's fault. Her blood, stronger and sweeter than any other I had ever encountered, incapacitated my senses. Without intuition, I was stepping closer, the blood in my brain failing to register any other scent around me.

I heard the distinct cock of a shotgun merely feet away from my advancing figure. I halted my movement, clarity returning to my state as the smell of leather filled my nostrils. Without a second delay, I sprinted to the wall, collecting speed and adrenaline. My feet sprung up its vertical exterior as power began to build in my legs. Once I had enough, I bounded to the opposite wall closest to the woman and crawled up the remaining feet to reach the rooftop.

"Yeah you better hide! Sweatshirt-wearin' little wuss!"

Forcing as much alertness into my state as possible, I tried to ignore the haze her scent had left and the vulnerability that I experienced around it. It was stronger than anything I'd ever inhaled. The thought of her blood sliding down my throat filled my mouth with saliva, my teeth itching to rip her skin apart and to feast upon her glorious blood.

In order for this dream to become a reality, I would need her partner eradicated, and for that purpose, I needed a team. I needed a group of fit and reliable hunters to help me take down every living survivor. But she would be mine, and mine alone.

The brother I had murdered would have been no use; and no brother would unless they were taught my way of attacking humans. I admit, I made a mistake. I had left him alone, and sought to find food for myself, rather than staying to watch his recovery. I could have used that valuable time to teach him how to hunt whilst avoiding any perpetual death. To continue on without passing down my advanced knowledge and skills would mean the end of my kind, and all other special kinds that I had encountered.

We were not rare, at least, not yet. We were plentiful. But that all collided into Hell as those who took off on their own vanished at the trigger of a human's weapon... or my own hand. No special infected would make it out of this alive, alone. I needed a team, and within that, we needed a plan. And that would all begin with my reign.

My rule will ensure the human population be crippled by the effects of our power. We will not kill, but keep. Allow them to heal, and then feed once more.

We will be plentiful. Only my reign allows this.

This is no holiday for feeding. This is war.

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><p>AN: Yay for Hunter awesomeness. Enjoy the chapter, let me know your thoughts and I'll see y'all at the next update.


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